News in Brief: Oct. 25 to Oct. 31

The Associated Students Senate approved at the Oct. 25 meeting a wellness vending machine containing contraceptive products that will be built at the Pardall Center in Isla Vista. Originally conceived two years ago by University of California, Santa Barbara students in the Women, Gender, and Sexual Equity Department, the project has been a collaborative effort between the Women’s Center, Student Health Services, and A.S. to give students easy accessibility to contraceptive products like Plan B medication, pregnancy tests, lubricant, and sex educational materials.

Take Back the Night (TBTN), an A.S. organization built to raise awareness about sexual assault on campus, will hold a “Halloween Safe Space” on Tuesdayfor those feeling distressed by the anticipated bustle of Halloween festivities. While the preceding weekend was mostly quiet, TBTN will provide “coloring books and other relaxing activities,” the group said on a Facebook event for the occasion.

ISLA VISTA

A UCSB student was sent to the hospital late Wednesday night for an apparent drug overdose, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office (SBSO) announced. The 19-year-old student was found on 6700 Trigo Road, unconscious and suffering extreme breathing difficulties, SBSO spokesperson Kelly Hoover said in a release. The student survived the incident, Hoover said, after officials treated him with Naloxone, a patented medication used to block the effects of opioids in the event of an overdose.

I.V. residents will be able to access new safety stations around the neighborhood on weekend nights, as the I.V. Community Services District (CSD) completed a planned expansion of the UCSB Community Service Officer (CSO) Escort Program at the Oct. 24 meeting. With the safety stations, the CSD will deliver on its partnership with the UCSB Police Department (UCPD) to create on-the-ground nighttime safety efforts for students in need. CSO escorts will staff the stations at night, ready to notify UCPD and the I.V. Foot Patrol in the event of an unsafe situation. The program ran its first station at Little Acorn Park on Friday, the first day of “Halloweekend” festivities in I.V.

A bicycle-car collision Monday afternoon at the intersection of Picasso Road and Embarcadero Del Mar sent a UCSB student to the hospital with minor injuries. Earlier this year, the County of Santa Barbara Public Works Department approved the building of a $300,000 stoplight at the intersection of Pardall Road and Embarcadero Del Norte, in order to prevent bicycle-car collisions.

COUNTY

A 4.3-magnitude earthquake shook the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Lompoc on Thursday afternoon, sending jolts that were felt throughout Santa Barbara County. County officials did not send out an official warning of further damage after the quake occurred.

NATIONAL

The State of California will increase the state gas tax by 12 cents per gallon starting Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times first reported. Tax revenue goes towards improving road infrastructure in the state, according to the LA Times. Gas prices in California have hovered around $3.05 for the price of a regular gallon, according to statistics provided by the technology company GasBuddy. California is one of two states in the country to have an average gas price of over $3 per regular gallon. The other state is Hawaii, which has an average price of $3.15 per regular gallon, according to GasBuddy statistics.